BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                             


 ------------------------------------------------------------ 
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 574|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
|(916) 445-6614         Fax: (916) |                         |
|327-4478                          |                         |
 ------------------------------------------------------------ 
  
                              
                    UNFINISHED BUSINESS
                              

Bill No:  SB 574
Author:   Dunn (D), et al
Amended:  7/13/99
Vote:     27

  
  SENATE HOUSING & COMM. DEV. COMMITTEE  :   5-1, 4/19/99
AYES:  Alarcon, Bowen, Costa, Escutia, Vasconcellos
NOES:  Monteith
NOT VOTING:  Johannessen

  SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :   Senate Rule 28.8

  SENATE FLOOR  :   28-10, 5/25/99
AYES:  Alarcon, Alpert, Baca, Bowen, Burton, Chesbro,  
  Costa, Dunn, Escutia, Figueroa, Hayden, Hughes,  
  Johannessen, Johnston, Karnette, Kelley, McPherson,  
  Morrow, Murray, O'Connell, Ortiz, Perata, Polanco,  
  Schiff, Sher, Solis, Speier, Vasconcellos
NOES:  Brulte, Knight, Leslie, Lewis, Monteith, Mountjoy,  
  Peace, Poochigian, Rainey, Wright
NOT VOTING:  Haynes, Johnson

  ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :   69-10, 8/23/99 - See last page for vote
 

  SUBJECT  :    Mobilehome Park Purchase Fund

  SOURCE  :     Department of Housing and Community Development

 
  DIGEST  :    This bill expands the Mobilehome Park Resident  
Ownership Program to allow qualified nonprofit housing  
sponsors and local public entities to use the program to  
                                                 CONTINUED





                                                      SB 574
                                                       Page  
2

fund mobilehome park conversions.

  Assembly Amendments  (a) add coauthors, (b) make minor,  
technical changes, (c) provide that funds shall not be used  
to relieve a park owner of responsibility for covering the  
costs of mitigating impacts of a park closure, and (d)  
require the local entity purchasing the mobilehome park to  
transfer the park to a nonprofit organization that has  
converted, or plans to convert, the park to resident  
ownership within three years.

  ANALYSIS  :   Mobilehome residents want to purchase their  
mobilehome parks to avoid continuous rent increases, and  
park closures and displacements.  Residents can also  
participate in developing park rules, regulations, and  
policies.


Enacted in 1984, the Mobilehome Park Resident Ownership  
Program (MPROP) provides loans to residential organizations  
to finance mobilehome park conversion costs, and to  
low-income mobilehome park residents to help them purchase  
their spaces (SB 2240, Seymour, 1984).  MPROP has funded  
approximately $28.5 million towards the conversion of 51  
mobilehome parks.


MPROP is funded by a $5 annual license fee surcharge and  
revenues from loan repayments.  Currently, $9 million is  
available to finance park conversions.


State officials say the demand for MPROP funds have  
decreased and they want to make the funds available for  
nonprofit housing providers to convert and preserve  
mobilehome parks that are at risk of closing.


This bill expands the Mobilehome Park Resident Ownership  
Program to allow qualified nonprofit housing sponsors and  
local public entities to use the program to fund mobilehome  
park conversions.  At least 30% of the spaces in a  
mobilehome park must be for mobilehomes that are owned by  
low-income residents.







                                                      SB 574
                                                       Page  
3



When loans are made to a qualified nonprofit housing  
sponsor or a local public entity, this bill requires:


1.Resident participation in the conversion and management  
  of the park.


2.Recordation of a regulatory agreement that limits  
  occupancy, rents, and park operations for the term of the  
  loan.


This bill also makes the following changes to the program:


1.Requires the Department of Housing and Community  
  Development (HCD) to give priority to applications for  
  resident-owned parks.


2. Allows funds to be used for relocating a mobilehome park  
  to a more suitable site within the same jurisdiction if  
  HCD determines the cost to relocate is a more prudent  
  expenditure of funds than the cost of repetitive repairs  
  to the existing park.


3.Defines "qualified nonprofit housing sponsor" to mean a  
  nonprofit public benefit corporation.


  Comments  :


  1.Preserving at-risk housing  .  As mobilehome parks age,  
  under ground utilities, roadways, and other  
  infrastructure deteriorate.  Owners don't have the  
  financing or incentive to upgrade their parks because  
  there are pressures to convert to other land uses such as  
  commercial shopping centers or higher cost residential  
  uses.  But these parks provide housing for lower income  







                                                      SB 574
                                                       Page  
4

  individuals and families and the residents don't have the  
  financial ability to move to another park.  Also, newer  
  parks won't accept older mobilehomes and these people  
  have no place to go.  This bill provides a way to  
  preserve mobilehome parks for affordable housing.


  2.Helping residents that are unable to help themselves  .   
  MPROP is an important tool to maintain affordable  
  housing.  Mobilehome park residents are able to borrow  
  money from the fund to purchase parks that may be closing  
  but residents may not have the experience or  
  qualifications to complete the complicated conversion  
  process or to manage the park after it converts.  This  
  bill opens the program to nonprofit organizations and  
  local governments by allowing them to use the funds to  
  preserve mobilehome parks as affordable housing.  


  3.Competing for the same dollars  .  MPROP is the only state  
  housing program available to lower income mobilehome park  
  residents that want to convert their mobilehome park to  
  an ownership park.  The program provides 3% simple  
  interest short-term loans for costs of park ownership  
  conversions, and long-term loans up to 30 years for  
  individual loans.  The funds are limited and sometimes  
  there are more applications than available funds.  This  
  bill allows nonprofit housing providers to compete for  
  MPROP funds to convert mobilehome parks. 


  FISCAL EFFECT  :   Appropriation:  Yes   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
Local:  No


  SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/23/99)

Department of Housing and Community Development (source)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Golden State Mobilehome Owners League
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Department of Finance
League of California Cities
California Redevelopment Association







                                                      SB 574
                                                       Page  
5

JERICHO
California Mobilehome Resource and Action Association
Rural Communities
County of Santa Cruz


  ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :   69-10, 8/23/99
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Battin, Bock, Brewer, Briggs,  
  Calderon, Campbell, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett,  
  Correa, Cox, Cunneen, Davis, Dickerson, Ducheny, Dutra,  
  Firebaugh, Florez, Floyd, Gallegos, Granlund, Havice,  
  Hertzberg, Honda, House, Jackson, Kaloogian, Keeley,  
  Knox, Kuehl, Leach, Lempert, Leonard, Longville,  
  Lowenthal, Machado, Maddox, Maldonado, Mazzoni,  
  McClintock, Migden, Nakano, Olberg, Oller, Rod Pacheco,  
  Papan, Reyes, Romero, Runner, Scott, Shelley, Soto,  
  Steinberg, Strickland, Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson,  
  Vincent, Washington, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins, Wildman,  
  Wright, Zettel, Villaraigosa
NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Baldwin, Bates, Baugh, Frusetta,  
  Margett, Robert Pacheco, Pescetti, Thompson
NOT VOTING: Ashburn


NC:jk  8/23/99   Senate Floor Analyses 

               SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                      ****  END  ****